Today I thought I'd share some information about colour modes and also some other design terms related to colour within graphic design. I hope it's helpful!

RGB

RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue. This is the colour mode we use for anything that will be viewed on screen, and the colours relate to the different colours of light used to produce the exact colours you want to appear on a computer/phone/tablet screen.

As a graphic designer I will always advise you on which files to use for what, when I send you your branding files, and for other design work I will always ensure your files are created in the correct colour mode for what they’re intended to be used for. For example you would use an RGB file for you social media profile image, any social media posts, and any digital adverts that will be viewed on a screen. You would also need an RGB file if you have a product printed by sublimation printing.

CMYK

CMYK is the colour mode we use for print, it stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. This relates to the different colours of ink used to print, and is important to ensure that anything you design will look right once it’s printed.

You’d use a CMYK file for pretty much anything that you’re having physically printed, from an advert you were having printed in a magazine, a leaflet or a banner, down to things you may print yourself like letterheads or receipts.

I always supply logos and branding files in both colour modes so that you always have the file you need for whatever you want to use it for, I also explain when to use each one. For any other design work I will always ensure it’s set up in the correct colour mode for what you need it for. 

Hex

Hex is short for hexadecimal, and is also known as an RGB triplet. It is a colour code used in web design to achieve a specific colour.

Hexadecimal codes start with a hashtag and are followed by six numbers or letters. The numbers refer to the amount of each colour used to make up the onscreen colours, like in RGB mode. The first two digits refer to the amount of red, the next two to the amount of green, and the last two to the amount of blue. 

White is #FFFFFF as FF represents the highest amount of a colour possible, and white light is created by combining full amounts of red, green and blue. In RGB code this would be R255 G255 B255.

Pantone 

Pantone colours are the most accurate way to achieve the colour you want to have printed. The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a standardised system to ensure consistency between printing companies. Each colour has a reference code and printers use this code to ensure their print colours match the colour required. 

A Pantone or spot colour is created from a palette of 18 basic colours. There are even more possibilities with Pantone colours than there are with CMYK colours, because not all colours can be mixed from cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK is also known as process colours). This could, on the flip side, mean that if you chose a Pantone colour for your branding, for example, it might be tricky to match on a CMYK printer at home. 

You can view the Pantone colour range over at www.pantone.com (where you can also purchase colour guides, this is not an advert, I just want to give you information on where to look at the colour range). On their website you can also find the corresponding CMYK colour breakdowns to a specific Pantone colour, which helps you achieve the colour you want if you’re not printing in Pantone/spot colours. 

It’s still important to talk to the print company you’re using if you want to achieve a specific colour, as different papers and materials will often produce slightly different colours, and the expertise of the printer will be invaluable.

Palette

A colour palette is a set of colours that are included in, or complement your logo, and are used to create your branding. They should work harmoniously and reflect your brand. The colour palette should then be used for any design work to ensure all marketing materials are kept ‘on brand’.

A lot of the best colour palettes are inspired by nature, such as sunsets or the gentle tones of flowers, and the colours should work together with shades or neutral tones as well as a main colour, rather than choosing lots of different strong colours to use together. 

You can use an app like Adobe Capture, or the Pantone Studio app to select a colour palette for you from a photo, so that’s something to look at, although not fail safe, as sometimes the combinations are a little random if either of the apps decide they prefer a part of the picture that you wouldn’t have chosen! It’s definitely easier to do by eye the more you experiment, I’m sure it’s something you do at home when decorating! These are a couple of examples I’ve created using Adobe Capture. (This is not an advert, I just hope to show you what I mean!)

Gradient 

A gradient is a gradual change from one colour to another, or a colour fading from full strength to transparent. This can either be linear, so fading top to bottom or left to right/across a diagonal etc, or it can be radial which is within a circle, so fading from one colour in the centre to another on the outside of the circle for example.

You can use gradients with more than two colours, such as in the logo I shared yesterday; the colours of the diamonds change from one colour of the spectrum to the next across the whole set of diamonds. 

Opacity

Opacity is the same as transparency, and is defined in percentage. The lower the opacity the more transparent the object is, 100% opacity is a solid colour/image.

You can use this to add a coloured layer to an image, such as adding a white layer over an image to make it paler in order to use it as a background image. Or you can change the opacity of a block of colour or an outlined box, so that they aren’t completely solid and let an image show through. Or you could make an image transparent by lowering its opacity! I hope that makes sense! If you have any questions please just ask!

Saturation

Saturation is the intensity of a colour or of an image as a whole. Bright, highly saturated images stand out, whereas less saturated images or colours are better to use as a background if you want to add text on top of them.

Monochrome 

Monochrome is when a single colour is used within a design or image, it doesn’t have to be black, it could be shades of blue for example, or any other colour, but only one.

Greyscale

Grayscale is when an image or design is just in shades of grey, ranging from black through all the shades of greys to white. It can be used effectively, especially in design work that can’t be in colour, for example in printed adverts. It is much better to design such an advert as a greyscale design, rather than designing it in colour and then converting it, as It’s important to use tones and shades to create emphasis and interest in a design without colour.